<p>A discussion is given on the information marketplace and the need to take advantage of the new technologies in these areas. In an era in which the Soviet Union has fallen and capitalism is ascendant in Eastern Europe, it should be no surprise that competition is about to reach even local telephone exchanges. Competitive access providers are increasingly providing interstate telephony service to businesses that were once the sole domain of local telephone companies. Cable companies are seeking authority to provide local telephone service, and a recent survey reports that a third of cable subscribers would be willing to subscribe to comparably priced telephone services provided by their cable company. New technologies offer the promise of competition. Competition in the local telephone exchanges is a fundamental component of competition in the information marketplace. Techniques and actions which must be done in order to compete successfully in the information marketplace are presented.</p>